Former Saints safety Darren Sharper charged with allegedly drugging and raping two women

Former New Orleans Saints safety Darren Sharper was charged with drugging and raping two women, one in October and the other last month, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Sharper was arrested on January 17 by Los Angeles police detectives, but eventually released on $200,000 bail. After an investigation, Sharper is currently being charged with two counts of rape by use of drugs, four counts of furnishing a controlled substance and one count of possession of a controlled substance, all felonies.

If Sharper is convicted, he faces 30 years in state prison.

Sharper is slated to be arraigned on Friday. The district attorney’s office will ask a judge to raise Sharper’s bail to $10 million because the safety, who lives in Miami (Fla.), is suspected of raping women in Arizona, Nevada and Louisiana.

Here is a portion of the district attorney’s press release:

"In a motion filed today to increase his bail, prosecutors said Sharper met two women at a West Hollywood nightclub on Oct. 30, 2013, and invited them to another party.

"On the way, Sharper allegedly told them he had to stop by his Los Angeles hotel room to pick something up and invited both women up. While there, he allegedly gave each woman a shot. Each woman passed out. Jane Doe #1 allegedly woke up naked hours later with Sharper sexually assaulting her. The second woman allegedly awoke and “interrupted his actions,” the motion states.

"The two women then left the hotel.

"On Jan. 14, Sharper met two separate women at the same West Hollywood nightclub and invited them to a party. Stopping at his hotel, he allegedly invited both up to his room, offered them a shot, and each passed out.

"When they woke up hours later on Jan. 15, one woman believed she’d been sexually assaulted. Both women left his hotel and sought medical treatment."

He was arrested two days later.

Sharper, a second-round pick by Green Bay in 1997, spent 14 years in the NFL. He was a five-time Pro Bowler, two-time first-team All-Pro and member of the NFL's All-Decade team of the 2000s. In addition to Green Bay and New Orleans, Sharper spent four seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. He was also a key component on New Orleans' 2009 Super Bowl championship team.